Bosch completes Ride Across America

When he's outside the confines of the courthouse, Knoxville-based lawyer Don Bosch likes to spend his free time on the open road.

"I've done four full Ironmans and about 20 half Ironmans," Bosch explained.

Most recently, Bosch completed what is considered the toughest bike race in the world- RAAM: The Race Across America.

"This was absolutely the hardest thing I've ever done," Bosch joked.

It's a 3000 mile continuous team race with no stages and no stopping. It starts in Oeanside, California and ends in Annapolis, Maryland.

It's like doing 7 Ironmans in a row, one right after another. You would get done each day and wonder just how on Earth am I going to do this again tomorrow? Really having just a bunch of good guys and good folks round you and everyone suffering together made it tolerable."

"We had a doctor and a nurse on the bus. We were getting fluid IV'. Those of us that don't live in the mountains were taking oxygen."

But what got Bosch and his 7 other teammates through the pain and fatigue was remebering what and who they were riding for. In Bosch's case, it was former UT assistant swim coach Joe Hendee who passed away from brain cancer a few years ago.

"All of us had a connection to brain injury or brain cancer. We raced for a team called Team Barrow. It supported Barrow Neurological Institute.

"This is one of the most rewarding endurance activities I've ever done."

Next up for Bosch is the Ironman in Canada this August, which may seem like a stroll in the park now.

"The idea of being able to start and finish in one day has some appeal and maybe won't seem so bad."